"Now Ryoga," Dougal started towards his temporary companion, "I want 
you to try to stay into character for the next few months.  I need you 
to be Claudio for me."  Dougal looked at Ryoga's blank expression, 
"Trust me this will help you act in this play."

	"What am I doing acting in this play anyway?" Ryoga asked, "I feel like 
I was dragged into it."

	"You were but that's beyond the point.", Dougal not really paying 
attention to Ryoga added blankly.

	"Then why should I continue?"

	"Because, Ranma will be next to Akane for the whole play and as I hear 
from Ukyo it seems that you have a crush on someone else's fiancee."

	Now (surprise, surprise) this made Ryoga extremely angry, "He doesn't 
deserve to be her fiancee!"

	Dougal arched his eyebrows in mock shock, "Oh really! Why?"

	"Well even though he has a great girl like Akane, Ranma isn't satisfied 
he's always chasing after other girls.  He's a teenage cassanova, he's 
cheep, he's a dirty fighter, he'll do anything to win a fight, he's 
petty, he's crude and to top it all of he's a pervert who acts like a 
girl half of the time."  Ryoga crossed his arms, sat down and humpfed as 
if he had made his point crystal clear.

	Dougal looked down upon the sitting Ryoga and shook his head, "I don't 
know what to say Ryoga - -"

	"Damn right, because you know I'm right."

	"That's not what I meant you idiot!" Dougal returned, "All you've 
prooven to me is that you like Akane, Ranma has many fiancees, keeps 
beating you in fights, and that he has a curse."  Dougal saw Ryoga's jaw 
fall slack.  "You see Ryoga my guess is that Ranma has lost his mother."

	"You could say that." Ryoga said in a complete deadpan.

	"Now all those girls chasing him, it may seem that he is going after 
them because he has very little female attention in his life.  For your 
information I majored in Psych during University, he lacked a mother 
figure and needed attention from the opposite sex.  So do you still feel 
embarrased by having a crush on someone elses fiancee." Dougal looked 
down at Ryoga expecting even more denial, like he said he majored in 
Psychology.

	"How can you say that he should be her fiancee," Ryoga denied with more 
vehemence than before, "haven't you seen how the fight all the time, and 
how he hurts her."  Ryoga's emotions were starting to get the best of 
him and his battle aura was starting to flare, not much but slightly.

	"Well for starters Ryoga it's obvious, well to me anyway, how they feel 
about each other." Dougal calmly told his distraught actor, "The insults 
wouldn't hurt her if she didn't care in the first place.  Another thing 
Ryoga, tonight when Akane cut herself on the knife I believe only two 
people heard her small almost inaudible gasp.  Me because I have 
incredibly sharp hearing and Ranma because he does care for her you 
know."  Dougal continued knowing that his words were like a knife and he 
was cruelly twisting it inside of Ryoga innards like a demon, "I wonder 
why you didn't go to her Ryoga, you were the closest to her when it 
happened and as I recall you were the last one to go to her.  It seems 
to me that you are just infatuated with someone elses fiancee."

	Ryoga jumped up and it seemed that he would strike Dougal, in fact he 
was very close he had New's clothing clasped in his hand as he jerked 
the director up.  "What do you know anyway you aren't me!" Ryoga 
screamed at him.  "All you are is some guy who we've known for only two 
days do you think that you know everything!"
	"I don't know everything Ryoga," Dougal calmly said, "I just see things 
a lot clearer than they are to most people."

	Ryoga let his hand drop to his side, he no longer cared, the world was 
a dark and lonely place.  His body apparently agreed with him as a small 
ball of blue energy started in his hand.  Uh-oh, Ryoga though.  "Open a 
window." Ryoga said in a very quiet voice, a deadly voice.

	"What?", Dougal asked.

	"I SAID OPEN A WINDOW, UNLESS YOU WANT THIS ROOM DESTROYED!", Ryoga 
yelled the ball getting a lot bigger in his hands.  Dougal ran over to 
the window yanked it open and got out of the way.

	"SHI CHI HOKODAN!!!" Ryoga yelled as a big streak of blue energy shot 
from his hands and into the night.  The now drained Ryoga passed out, 
slumping quietly to the ground.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that's the end of part 1 to Much Ado About Ranma!  I hope that you 
have enjoyed any or all of the sillyness and weirdness that permeates 
this fic.  Until the next time.

Jonathan ;p
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Benedick:  Then is courtesy a turncoat.  But it is certain I am loved of 
all ladies, only you excepted: and I would I could find in my heart that 
I had not a hard heart; for, truly, I love none.

Beatrice:  A dear happiness to women:  they would else have been trouble 
with a pernicious suitor.  I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your 
humour for that:  I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man 
swear he loves me.

(ACT 1, SCENE 1 FROM MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING)



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